Society must help folk with mental issues live happy, healthy lives: President

Community setting effective for this, he says at launch of revamped rehab home

- Syarafana Shafeeq

Living with mental health issues can be deeply isolating, and society must challenge itself to help such people progress to living happy and healthy lives, said President Tharman Shanmugaratnam on May 31.

Being in a community setting is effective for this, and helps people on the path to recovery, he added.

He was speaking at the official launch of the newly refurbished psychiatric rehabilitation home by the Singapore Association for Mental Health (SAMH). It is one such community setting that helps those with mental health issues such as depression and schizophrenia reintegrate into society.

The SAMH Group Homes is located within the heartland in Bukit Batok, allowing beneficiaries to normalise living in a Housing Board estate community as part of their path to recovery.

The homes consist of five housing units located at the foot of an HDB block. Each unit is shared by nine to 11 people, and has a kitchen, toilets and a living room.

The open-concept design aims to encourage interactions, and there are no bedrooms in the unit. Beds are arranged in a row, similar to those in a shared dormitory room. The homes were revamped to meet growing demand and completed their first major refurbishment in January. They now have an increased capacity of 51 beds, up from 36.